CRACK-BOOM—

A lightning pillar as thick as a water bucket pierced through the void, and in the blink of an eye, turned Cheng Junie's arm black and cracked, exuding bursts of a burnt stench.

Frowning at his withered and blackened arm, Cheng Junie's brow shone brightly. The black char flaked off his arm, and a brand new arm regenerated.

The Blood-Stained Realm, also known as the Undying Realm. This "undying" does not mean eternal life, but rather that the flesh is undying. Stepping into the Blood-Stained Realm requires blowing open the gateway of the Ancestral Aperture at the eyebrow center. One must gather the soul and take residence within the Ancestral Aperture. Once the soul resides in the Ancestral Aperture, one can draw upon the Divine Marvel of the heavens through the Ancestral Aperture, cleanse the spine, transform the nature of blood generation, and turn "ordinary blood" into "Tao Blood," completing the leap in the essence of life. Thus, great cultivators of the Blood-Stained Realm can establish clans, and the descendants they bring forth possess extraordinary bloodlines with inherent cultivation talents, and would not be choked by the checkpoints of the Ancient Gathering of Celestial Strength.

As their ordinary blood gets constantly stained, Blood-Stained cultivators can naturally master various Divine Marvels, depending on the Divine Power they channel. One of the universal abilities possessed by Blood-Stained cultivators is the ability to consume "Tao Blood" to regenerate limbs.

The Blood-Stained Realm is divided into nine levels. From the tailbone to the cervical spine, with each level ascended, the speed of recovery and regeneration doubles. At the Bloodstained Pinnacle Realm, one could even achieve immediate destruction and regeneration. Unless the soul is severed or the lifespan is exhausted, one is virtually "undying."

This lad's True Gang strength is extremely vast. He bombarded me all the way with Thunder Magic, showing not the slightest sign of weakness. What a complete monster!

After muttering to himself, Cheng Junie's face darkened slightly. This Crystal Palace is isolated from the world. The True Yuan spent cannot be recovered. Right now, he had less than one-tenth of his True Yuan left inside his body, and the consumption of Tao Blood was also very serious. If this continued, he had no chance of winning. Moreover, this lad possessed a Demon Skill that devoured vital energy. It was one of the very few Dharma Gates capable of countering the regenerative abilities of the Blood-Stained Realm. Even the power of this lad's demonic magic is terrifying. With merely a touch, it drained most of the vital energy from my Magic Sword. Could it be... he has also obtained the legacy of the Food Demon Sect?

His heart tightened, and Cheng Junie's eyes became more solemn. The disappearance of the Food Demon Sect was abrupt and mysterious. Therefore, very few legacies were left behind, most of which were Magic Artifacts, with very few Dharma Gates passed down. But the Star Absorption Skill that Qi Xiu just used was very much like a Dharma Gate of the Food Demon Sect.

After turning a corner, the corridor came to an end. A grand door abruptly appeared on one side, with three large characters inscribed in ancient script atop it. Pursued by Qi Xiu and running for his life, with no way forward, Cheng Junie glanced at the indistinct characters above and pushed his way through the door.

BOOM!

Upon entering the door, rows of neatly arranged wooden shelves stood tall in the room, each rack holding thousands of compartments. Inside each compartment was a porcelain bottle, with the name clearly written in the same ancient script.

"Is this... the pill room?"

Cheng Junie hadn't expected his random wandering to lead him to the pill room of this palace. Facing tens of thousands of Elixirs, he was first delighted, then his mood turned sour. The names of these Elixirs were written in Dragon script, which he couldn't recognize at all. How can I tell which is Spiritual Medicine and which is poison!

No sooner had Cheng Junie stepped into the pill room than Qi Xiu followed him in. Their gazes clashed.

Cheng Junie turned around and drew his Magic Sword, the surging blue flames of Southern Bright Separation Fire igniting upon it. With things having come to this point, it was time for a desperate fight.

Faced with Cheng Junie's cornered-beast desperation, Qi Xiu looked solemn, silently calculating.

Given Cheng Junie's current state, I'm confident I can kill him. After all, compared to me, Cheng Junie is physically and mentally exhausted, not even a tenth of his peak condition, while I am at my peak. And through Tai Yin's memories, I know all the techniques Cheng Junie has displayed. With a little caution and a small price, taking him down shouldn't be a problem.

Taking a step forward, Qi Xiu decided to eliminate Cheng Junie. His hands suddenly turned pitch black.

With a slight shift in his gaze, Qi Xiu's aura, hundreds of times stronger than that of the Dao-Entering Realm, suddenly burst forth like a flood, roaring and sweeping forward like a category eighteen storm. The wooden racks in the pill room shook violently, as if they were about to be overturned and shattered.

Cheng Junie's pupils suddenly contracted, hardly believing this was the aura a minor Dao-Entering Realm cultivator could unleash, and he gripped his Magic Sword more tightly.

"I shall…" Qi Xiu's killing intent flared, and his eyes surged with a torrent of colors. The next instant, he was about to unleash a newly developed killing move to slay this Blood-Stained Great Cultivator.

But just as he was about to make his move, a streak of green light suddenly burst in from outside the door, falling into his hands. Looking at the copper mirror in his hand, Qi Xiu was at first flabbergasted, then a look of indignation emerged deep within his pupils.

"Why aren't you attacking?" Seeing Qi Xiu unexpectedly stop, Cheng Junie narrowed his eyes and became even more vigilant, uncertain of what this extraordinary Initiate Realm cultivator was scheming.

Raising his eyes toward Cheng Junie, Qi Xiu slowly dissipated the pitch blackness from his hands and uttered a statement that took Cheng Junie by surprise.

"Let's cooperate."

"Cooperate?" Cheng Junie frowned, confused.

"My Avatar is dead. The Flood Dragon King has released a batch of evil Demon Cultivators inside. Five at the Blood-Stained Realm, twenty at the Initiate Realm. Without cooperation, both you and I will die here." Expressionless, Qi Xiu revealed the truth.

Tai Yin was killed by the sudden appearance of Demon Cultivators. Right before death, she sent a message to me and returned the Dual Heart Mirror. Tai Yin's death isn't a major issue. As long as the Dual Heart Mirror is intact, she can be revived at some cost. But my Flood Dragon Pool Ring was lost because of this. I need to find a way to retrieve it.

"How can I trust you?" Having lived for several hundred years, Cheng Junie was no naive child, and he couldn't fully trust Qi Xiu's words. After all, the two had just been locked in a fierce standoff, each intending to send the other to their death!

"If you don't trust me, forget it." Not wanting to waste time on squabbles at this moment, Qi Xiu turned and walked toward a wooden shelf to the side.

"HMPH!" Seeing that Qi Xiu ignored him, Cheng Junie's eyes turned cold, and he left with a swish of his sleeve through the door.

But not even half a moment later, this Blood-Stained Great Cultivator suddenly pushed the door open and returned.

Qi Xiu, who was examining a bottle of Elixirs, couldn't help but chuckle upon seeing Cheng Junie return. "Now you believe me?"

His face a sickly greenish-black, Cheng Junie nodded grimly. "I ran into them. But you understated it. Not five Blood-Stained Realm cultivators, but six. And the leader is the Golden Armored Corpse Demon, Nie Biao, from Mount Beimang!"

"In this situation, does it make any difference whether there are five or six?" Ignoring Cheng Junie's correction, Qi Xiu casually tossed the porcelain bottle he was holding. "Eat this. It can help you recover your True Yuan."

Catching the porcelain bottle, Cheng Junie looked astonished. "You understand this Dragon script?"

"No." Continuing to examine the Elixirs on the wooden shelf, Qi Xiu casually answered.

"Then how do you know this Elixir can restore True Yuan?" Cheng Junie rolled his eyes.

"I don't understand Dragon script, but I do understand Alchemy. Are you going to eat it or not? If not, give it back."

Turning to glance at Cheng Junie, Qi Xiu shook the bottle of Elixirs in his hand before putting it down. His Alchemy Skill was nearing the Fourth Realm. These Elixirs were of high grade, and although he could not directly discern their formulas, analyzing and identifying their general effects was not difficult.

These usable ones are excellent.

Putting down another bottle of Elixirs, Qi Xiu frowned tightly. There were tens of thousands of porcelain bottles in this pill room. Yet among the hundreds of Elixirs he'd handled, less than five could be used. Most of the Elixirs here were meant for Great Demons. Their potency was violent and complicated with impurities. Pure medicines were extremely rare.

But this is hardly surprising. This Crystal Palace is a True Dragon's temporary residence; how many of the Human Race could be here? So, the Elixirs here are probably for the Exotic Beasts and fairies in the palace. In other words, commonly known as beast medicine. Very few are fit for human consumption.

"That's about enough." Quietly calculating the time, Qi Xiu then picked up three bottles of Elixirs and tucked them into his sleeve before striding toward the doorway.

"How shall we cooperate?" Having ingested the Spiritual Medicine found by Qi Xiu, Cheng Junie's tired and weakened aura sprang back to life. His eyes brimming with Sword Intent, sharp and fierce, he regained the domineering air of a Blood-Stained Great Cultivator.

Such potent Elixirs! A single pill restored thirty percent of my True Yuan. Truly a treasure from the Dragon Palace.

"Simple. Ever heard of the 'shutting the door to catch the thieves' tactic? I'll lure them here, and then we attack together. Defeat them one by one. How about that?"

Hearing Qi Xiu's plan, Cheng Junie nodded. At this juncture, the simpler the strategy, the more effective it was. Moreover, Qi Xiu would be acting as bait.

Those Demon Cultivators are too numerous. If we can reduce their numbers to a manageable level, then he and I—one Sword Cultivator, one Thunder Magic practitioner—might just be able to win against the odds, to turn the tables with a decisive strike. It's not impossible.

"Good!"

Having reached an agreement, Qi Xiu flipped his palm, and a bronze-colored bell suddenly materialized in his hand. Gently shaking the Heavenly Clear Bell, Qi Xiu concentrated, murmuring softly.

The void trembled slightly, and a doorway slowly opened. A dozen or so sallow, withered, tall, and gaunt paper figures with garishly painted red cheeks slowly emerged from the door.

[Paper Ghost]

One of the eight hundred minor ghosts of the netherworld, they possess no combat strength and could be easily slaughtered by even an Initiate Realm cultivator. But they hold a Divine Power that not even Blood-Stained Realm cultivators can break.

A Paper Ghost walked up to Qi Xiu and took his left hand. In the next instant, its body began to rapidly gain flesh and swell. The crudely painted features also became vivid and lifelike in mere moments. The originally eerie and spectral Paper Ghost assumed Qi Xiu's appearance. Standing beside Qi Xiu, except for that sinister smile, almost no difference could be discerned.

"Incredible." Witnessing the Paper Ghost take on Qi Xiu's guise, Cheng Junie couldn't help but clap in admiration.

"With these Paper Ghosts as bait, we can just wait here for our prey."

Once all dozen or so Paper Ghosts had transformed into Qi Xiu's likeness, Qi Xiu took out more than ten Black Water Talismans. Though these Paper Ghosts could take on his appearance, they did not possess his realm or Cultivation. The Black Water Talismans would allow them to wield Escape Light, making the illusion even more believable.

As the Paper Ghosts, wearing eerie smiles, walked out of the pill room's main door, Qi Xiu and Cheng Junie exchanged a glance. They slowly positioned themselves on either side of the pill room entrance.

One held a sword.

The other, hands like ink.

...

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